Emergency Response

Are you confident in an emergency situation you are equipped to respond? I thought I was, but I wasn’t…..

We all like to think in an emergency situation we will remain calm and be able to put what we have learnt into practice and then fall in a heap after. In my career, I have completed numerous first aid / CPR courses. I haven’t done one however is quite a while, but I assumed ‘’it will be OK, it will all come back to me’’. Unfortunately, just over 12 months ago, the need arose and I forgot everything…..I even forgot the suburb I lived in!!!

In April 2015, my 1-year-old, suffered a Febrile Convulsion. At the time I didn’t know what it was, but I have since found out it is common with 1 in 25 children suffering from these until the age of 5.  Scary huh!!

So what happened?

It was any normal day, however when she woke from her afternoon sleep she was full of vomit. She must have vomited in her sleep.  I checked her temperature which was 39.8, stripped her down and we run a bath to clean her and cool her down. Once she was in the bath she started convulsing!!!! Never in my life have a been so frightened! Thankfully at the time her dad was home too. We both felt so helpless. Here was our baby convulsing and we didn’t know why. I still remember everything from that day…..she was limp…..she was jerking…..and her eyes rolling back in her head.  At that moment, I thought she was dying! I was hysterical to say the least. I managed to call 000 and apparently the ambulance arrived within 7 minutes, but I remember saying to the operator ‘’stop asking me all these questions and just get the ambulance here’’! What I didn’t realise, it had already been despatched……7 minutes felt like 27 minutes. The worst part is when they come out of the convulsion (which lasted for about 10 minutes). They say they have a headache and their little body aches all over from the movements it was doing for those 10 minutes.  The best way to describe a Febrile Convulsion is it’s her body trying to regulate her temperature. It caused no harm to her at all and the cause was the onset of tonsillitis. For weeks’ later I was on edge. It leaves a lasting imprint on you. Five months passed and we were convulsion free, then the call come in from Daycare! OH NO…. Not again….. although I knew this time what it was, it was such a frightening experience as I wasn’t there for her.  I arrived at Daycare as the ambulance arrived (they called me first before the ambulance) and all the staff were shaken and some crying. I had given them all the information and it was handled well, but the fall out after is not clear. Staff were shaken, one lady resigned and one told me she ‘’thought she was dead’’. Although they were prepared it was then the shock after that had an impact on this workplace which needed to be managed.

Whenever my daughter now gets sick, I fear the worst. But as her mother, I am now better prepared and equipped for this. I am yet to do my first aid course (mummy duties have got in the way) however I know what measures to put in place to help prevent this from happening. My other concern is when others are looking after her, as I wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone. I now have instructions on our fridge which I go over with the baby sitter and also have a list of information that in the case of an emergency the ambulance would ask.

The reason I am sharing this, as in the workplace it’s extremely important that you are prepared for an emergency event. Things to consider are

• Tools and information readily available to be able to respond.
• First aid equipment to be stocked.
• First aiders are suitably trained.
• How to respond in an emergency to be displayed and clearly communicated.
• Processes in place so that in the event of an emergency workers are formally interviewed and followed to determine if any assistance is required.

If you need help within your business around first aid, emergency response or would like to know more please contact me today on 0413917722.  At Zero Exposure Solutions we also have formed a number of alliances with suppliers/providers as we are unable to be an expert at everything. If you are looking for a product or service that we don’t provide, we can help you find the right one suited to your business.